In some cases, a merchant may offer items, such as products or services, in their inventory for acquisition via a site of the merchant, such as a website. In other situations, a merchant may advertise items available for acquisition in a physical store of the merchant via a third-party site, such as a merchant directory website or a social networking site However, the exposure of items being offered for acquisition by a local merchant are typically limited.
Additionally, service providers are often looking for ways to provide services for a larger pool of merchants. For example, deal sites and ecommerce service providers may seek to increase the number of merchants that are obtaining their services. In many situations, the number of options for reaching out to merchants to provide information about the services offered by the service providers is limited and the effectiveness of some of these options can be inadequate.